


So Many Things I Want

by Kaddi



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, POV: Kairi, kairi goes to sonic's world and has a Great Ol' Time, rounding the corner with a bunch of lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 13:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30039372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaddi/pseuds/Kaddi
Summary: The world was vibrant and colourful, like it popped right out of a cartoon or a video game. Kairi sat on the threshold of her Gummi Ship, keyblade armor engaged and keyblade glider strapped to her feet, as she looked at it from high above.She was the first one to explore it, and she got to do it all by herself. Her friends were just a phone call away, but it was still only her who got to go. Her heart was beating curiously in her chest already, nerves mixing in with excitement.
Relationships: Amy Rose/Blaze the Cat
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	So Many Things I Want

The world was vibrant and colourful, like it popped right out of a cartoon or a video game. Kairi sat on the threshold of her Gummi Ship, keyblade armor engaged and keyblade glider strapped to her feet, as she looked at it from high above.

She was the first one to explore it, and she got to do it all by herself. Her friends were just a phone call away, but it was still only her who got to go. Her heart was beating curiously in her chest already, nerves mixing in with excitement.

There was no official Keyblade Wielder Business she was sent for – in fact, there weren't supposed to be Heartless here at all. Riku had spotted this world and told her it'd be perfect for her first true solo adventure. She just needed to grasp the opportunity.

She pushed herself from the threshold. Behind her, the door whirred shut and her ship powered down. Below her, her keyblade kicked to life, singing happily as they descended to this unknown world.

The portal popped her out over a sprawling meadow. Not far from her, a quaint town laid itself over the hills, neatly arranged houses of cream and red colour blooming alongside rows of trees and flower patches. The sky was spotted with clouds, but otherwise a gentle blue. Kairi took a deep breath of the clear air.

This shouldn't be too difficult.

She touched down on the ground and dismissed both her armor and her glider, brushing down her pants as she did so. Her hands shook faintly, but she couldn't help her nerves. She was really here. All by herself, because she had proved capable of it. She couldn't let her friends down now. After all, what aspiring Bondmaker got scared stiff just because they're someplace new?

Even if this place was a lot bigger than she had imagined. She waded through a sea of knee-high grass for a while, until she finally reached a paved road. Suddenly, a gust of wind picked up in a blue blur and zoomed past her, disturbing the trees and flowers by the wayside. It passed at quickly as it came, leaving her to look in the direction it had gone with quite a bit of confusion.

"Wait, Sonic!" Someone called out behind her, and Kairi turned around to see who it was. An anthropomorphic animal ran up to her. She had pink quills, kept orderly by a red headband, and wore an equally red dress and shoes. When she reached Kairi, she slowed down and put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily.

"Excuse me," Kairi said carefully, "what's the matter?"

The hedgehog slowly caught her breath, waving away her concern. "Oh, it's nothing, sweetie. Did you see Sonic run past here by any chance?"

"Sonic?" Kairi looked over to the trees, which had recovered and returned to their gentle swaying. Was he the wind she had seen?

"You don't know him?" the hedgehog asked, genuine surprise colouring her voice.

Kairi fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Sora had warned her that world-travelling required a certain degree of improvisation, but she didn't expect that she'd need it so soon. With her luck, this Sonic was some kind of world-renowned hero, or a super star or some other public figure everybody knew.

Thankfully, she was saved from answering because the hedgehog continued with a laugh, "Have you seen a blue whirlwind race past here?"

"That's him?" Kairi hadn't been able to make out any shape in that blue wind, it was gone so fast!

"Yup!" She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Sonic the Hedgehog, fastest thing alive, doesn't stand still long enough to listen, thank you very much. Well, it's not like I'll catch him _now_."

"I'm sorry about that," Kairi said.

Once again, the hedgehog waved her off, but she was smiling now. "I'm used to it. Say, what are you doing around here?"

"I'm just looking around?" It sounded more like a question with the uncertainty in her voice, and she cringed. Great going. But the hedgehog wasn't bothered by it – she just nodded knowingly.

"A fellow free spirit, I see. I just cleared off an afternoon, if you'd like some company – I know all the best spots around this neighbourhood."

"I'd love that! My name is Kairi." Kairi smiled.

She clasped her hands. "What a cute name. I'm Amy, it's so nice to meet you."

With her new friend, Kairi spent the better part of the afternoon strolling through town. Amy showed her the best places to pick flowers, a hidden little stream where the sun hit the water to make it sparkle, and the ice cream café where she had her first official date. It was a little establishment squished next to a house, where the front door led to a small hallway with two doors – one led to the café, the other to the apartment above it. The café itself was more of a repurposed bar, with old, yellowed flooring. Alcohol bottles had mostly been replaced with syrups and the counter made way for the various flavours of ice cream. Amy bought a sweet treat for both of them, deftly deflecting Kairi's every attempt to pay her back.

A short while after they had finished their ice cream, they ran into one of Amy's friends – a purple cat named Blaze. She stood tall and proud, a kind smile on her face as she waved at them. Something about her made Kairi stand up straighter, like she was now in the presence of royalty.

"Blaze, love, look! This is my new friend, Kairi," Amy introduced her with a big smile. Blaze looked at her with inquisitive eyes and held out her hand for Kairi to shake. Kairi took it.

"I'm charmed," Blaze said sincerely.

"Likewise," Kairi answered, a blush creeping to her face at the attention. "Amy has been showing me around."

Blaze's smile softened and her gaze moved to Amy. "How sweet of her."

Amy covered her cheek with a hand and giggled. "Don't embarrass me, love!"

Kairi was reminded of Sora and Riku as she looked at them. The two girls were obviously very different – even though he was a Master, Riku never put this amount of dignity in his stance, and Amy was a lot more bubbly than Sora was. And still, Kairi rarely felt third-wheeled by just a look shared between two others.

Thankfully, Blaze and Amy hadn't forgotten that she was here.

"I was on my way back from an errand, would you mind if I accompany you?" Blaze asked, intentionally including Kairi by looking between her and Amy.

"Not at all!" Kairi and Amy said at the same time. They shared a glance and broke into laughter.

If she was honest, Kairi was worried that the bad feeling would return – she had hit it off so well with Amy, it would be just her luck if all that was dashed because they happened to run into an old friend of hers. But Blaze was immensely courteous, and both she and Amy sought to include Kairi throughout the whole trip. This still felt like it was about _her_ , that _she_ was being shown around, and not that she had begun trailing after two people who happened to take her along. It made something Kairi couldn't define swell in her chest, and she couldn't wipe the smile away that neatly nestled on her face.

Way too soon, the sun kissed the horizon goodbye and Kairi had to part ways with them. She assured them multiple times that yes, she had a cozy place to stay the night, and no, it wasn't necessary for them to walk her there. By the end of it, Kairi had worked up a comfortable blush and the grin stuck to her face long after she had waved them goodbye and they left her sight. She was downright giddy even, laughter bubbling in her throat as she skipped down the street. Now she just had to find a secluded spot to summon her keyblade glider so she could fly up to her Gummi Ship. Then she would spam her best friends with at least a dozen text messages about the good day she had had. And also to sleep, as her body was trying to remind her of her exhaustion – something that, for now, she could easily ignore.

  
As far as first adventures went, this one couldn't have been tamer. Nonetheless she couldn't be happier with how it went.

The next day saw her awake bright and early. Dawn was only just stretching its arms when she flew down to the world on her keyblade glider. The streets were empty, so she didn't worry too much about being spotted. The same meadow as yesterday served as her landing spot. With its tall grass, it would give her soft ground to fall on in case she crashed – not that she expected to, she wasn't a novice glider anymore, but there was nothing wrong with taking some precautions. Even if those precautions end up being unnecessary.

The flight down was smooth, and she touched down on the ground unscathed. Pleased, she hopped off the board and deactivated her armor. Any wrinkles it caused in her flowy blouse were quickly straightened out. Another perfect landing – she was getting really good at this.

As if it could read her thoughts and just to be ironic, a familiar gust of wind whirled up, strong enough that it knocked her unsuspecting self over. She landed with a gentle thud, and the grass cushioned her behind but not her wounded pride.

"Hey, sorry about that!"

During the fall she had squeezed shut her eyes (she really needed to work on that), now she opened them to see a blue hedgehog, holding out his hand to help her up. He was idly bouncing on his feet as he did so. Kairi secured her glider under her arm and took his hand. With ease he pulled her up, even though he was about a head smaller than her.

"Thank you," she said.

"That's the least I can do when I barreled you over like that," he replied.

Kairi filed that away to think about later. It shouldn't be possible to run as fast as the wind, but then again she knew little about the kind of powers this world's people could have. For now, she could get a good look at him. He had long blue quills, way longer than Amy's, and he wore bright red shoes that showed signs of wear. Under his arms he held a sleek board that reminded her of her glider. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps he was a keyblade wielder like herself, but there was only the tell-tale sing-song of her own keyblade. No such music came from his board, so it was unlikely.

Still, why was he here? This place was quite a distance away from the road. He couldn't have seen her fly down? So much for going unnoticed.

"Your board is looking rather cool, I gotta say. Where'd you get it?"

Well, if he wasn't a fellow wielder, she couldn't reveal what it really was. Thankfully, in this case she had an excuse that was mostly true.

"A friend gave this to me."

"Neat. Made that themself?"

"Kind of," she answered evasively. "But I helped."

He whistled, his hand obviously itching to reach out and touch it. Kairi tugged her glider closer to her side.

"That's cool! I don't think I've ever seen gear like that." He held out his own board so she could marvel at it. "My buddy made this hoverboard for me. The Blue Star! Amazing, right?"

She nodded, smiling, not sure if he meant the buddy or the board. So, a hoverboard, was it? She had never seen one of those for herself before. keyblade gliders didn't count.

"It is pretty amazing," she agreed.

Though, if she was being honest, she vastly preferred her own glider. It functioned similarly to a hoverboard, true, but it had a pair of wings made of filigree metal on its sides. They were useful beyond looking pretty; they were sturdy enough that she could put her weight on them for sharp turns, and in case she needed a weapon, the feathers were detachable.

Still, his board scored with its sleek simplicity. It looked downright futuristic, even.

"Hey, what's your name?" she asked. She had a nagging suspicion this could be the hedgehog that Amy was looking for yesterday.

He grinned. "The name's Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service." He bowed exaggeratedly, which made her giggle.

"I'm Kairi, it's nice to meet you."

So her hunch had been correct. A blue hedgehog named Sonic, there couldn't be that many around here. She could maybe even see the hero-type in him, with his easy-going nature.

"Hey, Kairi, you up for a race?"

"A race?" she echoed.

She had never understood the appeal, but Sora and Riku _loved_ racing, a competition that only got more annoying now that they had improved mobility. The combination of gliders and flowmotion was downright ridiculous. Sometimes, she agreed to race with them, mostly if some of their other friends were also joining them.

"What are the conditions?"

Races always had those, right? The practice could come in useful now, then.

He snapped his fingers. "I like the way you think. How about a straightforward race, no meddling? The winner gets one favour of their choice, decided beforehand."

"Sounds good to me!"

Sonic tapped away at his wristwatch and a moment later, it projected a holographic map. He stepped closer as he pointed at a red spot. "Okay, this is where we are right now. This over there is Chestnut Street. You see how it loops around here? Let's do three laps. I've got chalk to mark the starting line with."

Kairi studied the map for a moment longer, then she nodded. "So, what do you want if you win?"

"If I win...." Sonic trailed off, tapping his chin as he considered it. Then he grinned. "Oh, I got it! If I win, I'll introduce you to my buddy Tails. He's gonna freak out when he sees the kind of board you got. What about you?"

Kairi pretended to think for a moment, but she already had her answer. "If I win, you come see Amy with me. We're meeting up for tea, but I'm sure she won't mind an extra guest."

The grin slipped off his face and he looked at her with wide eyes. "You know Amy?" he asked, bouncing on his feet again.

Kairi twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, innocence personified. "You know her, too?" she asked excitedly. "Great! Do you accept the terms then?"

She held out her hand, and she knew that she had done something mean. Amy had swiftly swept the matter aside, but Kairi was certain that not seeing Sonic had bothered her. This was her attempt to pay back the kindness that she showed yesterday.

"Alright. I never back down from a challenge." Sonic smirked as he shook her hand. "I'll show you how fast I am!"

On the walk to their designated starting point, Kairi's hands began to sweat. They continued to sweat, no matter how often she wiped them on her shorts, after they had drawn a big red finish line and climbed on their boards. They drove a leisurely lap to allow Kairi to familiarize herself with the layout, chattering all the while. Sonic clearly didn't need this preparation, since he flew backwards all the while.

Then the red line came into view again, and Kairi's heart leapt into her throat. She had felt unfairly confident so far, but now she began to tremble. Sonic clearly had experience, both of the layout and with hoverboard racing. Amy had called him the fastest thing alive. How could she compete with that? She usually lost any race she participated in.

Sonic tapped her shoulder. She whipped her head up to look at him and uncurled her fists.

"Good luck, yeah?" he said, holding out a fist.

She bumped it with her own, and a shaky smile appeared on her face. "You too!"

Together, they counted down from three. At _Go!_ , Kairi's keyblade roared to life and she took off. The wind hit her face, unforgiving and unfazed by her challenging glare. The sun peeked out behind its cloud cover to watch the spectacle like it was a Sunday morning cartoon. Kairi only caught a glimpse of it, her gaze trained on the path before her. But oh how quickly she lost her shot.

Kairi misjudged the first turn, which forced her to slow down and correct her angle. Sonic swept past her, waving cheekily, and left her to eat dust. From that on, she was constrained to watching his back. Though her following turns were significantly better, Sonic was even better than that. She was able to narrow the gap between them, but it was still Sonic who crossed the finish line first.

He congratulated and praised her like a good sport, but it left a bitter aftertaste in Kairi's mouth.

"Don't worry too much about it," Sonic said, patting her shoulder. "I won three championships with this baby."

Kairi's face fell. No wonder he did so well! And here she was, thinking _she_ was mean for making him see Amy if she won!

"About the reward – want to come with me to see Tails right now?" Sonic asked, putting a hand on his hip.

"I'm sorry," Kairi said. "I'm supposed to meet Amy now. Why don't you give me your friend's address and I'll see you there later?"

"Sounds good to me."

They fiddled around on their phones, and soon Kairi was one address and one phone number richer. Then Sonic waved goodbye and left in quite a hurry.

Once he was out of sight, Kairi sighed and slouched her shoulders. Her heart finally calmed down enough that her pulse was close to normal. So she lost. To a three-time world champion. In the face of that information, didn't she do quite well? It didn't make her feel all that much better, but it was something. Now, she had to put on a brighter face. She was off to meet Amy, after all!

Speaking of.... where did Amy live, again? She realized that Amy hadn't actually told her during their goodbyes yesterday. All Kairi knew was that she lived somewhere in this neighbourhood. She should have asked Sonic while he was still here. But maybe it's a good thing she lost, the embarrassment would have been too strong if he had noticed that she didn't know this crucial information.

So Kairi dismissed her glider and returned to the street where her entanglement with this world began, where she then picked a direction to go in. It was better than standing around doing nothing, and as luck would have it, she soon ran into Blaze, who was out on a morning walk.

"Good morning, Kairi," Blaze greeted. "Out and about quite early, I see."

Kairi smiled. "Yup! I'm on my way to meet Amy."

"Amy?" Blaze looked puzzled.

"Do you think it's too early?"

"I think you're going in the wrong direction."

"Oh!" Kairi blushed to the tip of her ears and waved her hands. "I must have gotten turned around."

Blaze chuckled. "Let's walk together."

Though mortified, Kairi agreed. The silence seemed thick between them, heated by her embarrassment. Blaze was graceful enough to not let it bother her. Her quiet elegance flowed through her form and each step she took. Like yesterday, Kairi was intimidated, and without Amy there to act as a buffer she began to babble, much to her friend's amusement.

"Be at ease, Kairi," she said at some point.

"I'm sorry!" Kairi fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "It's just, you look so much like a princess!"

Blaze laughed and Kairi got even more flustered. "Perhaps that is because I _am_ a princess."

At that, Kairi felt like she was transported back into her very first keyblade training session, where a rogue chair hit her right in the chest and set off quite the hilarious chain of events. Ah. A princess, of course. She could faint, right now, and give her poor heart a well-earned break.

Before she could, Blaze asked, "Are you a princess as well?"

"In name only," Kairi answered with a self-deprecating chuckle. She still had no idea what her Princess of Heart powers were exactly – not that there had been any need for them. No, the only thing they had done for her was paint a target on her back.

Blaze hummed. "If that name doesn't fit, you should discard it or make it fit you." She looked at Kairi and her golden eyes seemed to glow. " _You_ are the one who defines you."

Kairi could only bear to look her in the eyes for a moment, before she trained her gaze on something else. Blaze left her to turn this piece of advice over in her head as Amy's house came into view.

Like the other houses, a gabled dormer overlooked the quiet street. With its pink roof tiles and soft yellow walls, it looked like a strawberry cake. An apple tree grew in her front garden as well as flocks of phlox and other such flowers. One window was opened, leaving the delicious smell of freshly-baked cookies to waft over. Kairi's growling stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

They walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. They had to wait for a while, but just as Kairi wanted to reach out and ring again, the door opened and there stood Amy, dusted with flour and an apron speckled with dough and chocolate. The sweetest thing, however, was the smile that spread on her face.

"Kairi! Blaze!" She clasped her hands and laughed. "I _just_ finished a batch of cookies! Come in, come in, you have to be the first to try them."

She ushered them in, leaving them barely enough time to toe off their shoes before they were herded into the living room. The room was light and airy, with a patchwork of differently-sized carpets covering the dark wooden floor. Blaze and Kairi sat down at the dinner table and once Amy was assured that her guests were seated, she skipped away to the kitchen.

Kairi sank into the cushion, her eyes sweeping over the room. There were a lot of photos artfully arranged on the walls and furniture. Some of them included Amy, but most of them depicted her friends. The only ones she knew were Blaze, who laid claim to several solo photos as well as photos with just her and Amy, and Sonic, who most often was in group photos with other people Kairi didn't know. A yellow fox, a cream-coloured rabbit, several other hedgehogs... Amy knew a lot of people. With her friendly nature, that wasn't a surprise.

"Amy has a lot of friends, huh?" Kairi said, a bit absentmindedly.

"She's very strong," Blaze said, her chin on her hands and her eyes following Kairi's. "I admire that about her."

"What do you mean?"

Blaze cocked her head. "Someone who listens to their emotions is incredibly strong, don't you think?"

Her eyes pierced right through Kairi's heart, as though Kairi's body had become transparent to lay her bare for who she was. She squirmed in her seat. There were still things she would rather not think about, so she asked Blaze the first question she could think of to distract her.

"What else do you like about Amy?"

At that, Blaze smiled softly and closed her eyes, looking truly like a cat.

"Too much to list."

Then Amy kicked open the door to the living room with a triumphant shout, a tray with cookies and a teapot in her hands. The door was stopped by a conveniently placed carpet so it didn't hit the wall.

"That's one of the things," Blaze quietly told Kairi, like it was a secret.

"What are you two talking about?" Amy asked as she placed the tray on the table.

"We were just talking about how much I love you."

As Amy cooed and threw her arms around Blaze, rubbing their temples together, something clicked in Kairi's head. She hadn't really thought about it before, but considering the way they were acting, could they be...? The way they smiled so fondly when they talked about each other, you'd think they were a couple. Amy called Blaze "love", and Blaze had said that she was telling Kairi about how she _loved_ Amy...

Blaze gently pushed Amy away, pink dusting her cheeks. "We have a guest, darling."

"Oh, right!"

Things returned to normal while Amy busied herself serving tea and cookies. Blaze thumbed through a magazine that was lying on the table, her demeanour calm once more. Only Kairi was left slightly frazzled by her realization. Unbidden, she was imagining a girl looking at her so tenderly, and her cheeks heated up. She knew she was being weird about it, and she mentally chided herself for it. But even though she tried to steer her thoughts away – or at least over to Sora instead of a faceless girl – they wouldn't cooperate. She remembered the time Olette had held her hand on a visit to Twilight Town, but that was terrible, because now her mind had an image to attach to the fantasy.

"Everything okay, sweetie?"

Amy's voice cut through her thoughts like a knife through a slice of cake. Kairi startled and hurriedly took a sip of her tea to wet her parched throat.

"Everything's fine," she said.

"You're blushing," Blaze helpfully pointed out.

"Yup!" Kairi said and put a hand to her face to feel how warm it had gotten.

"Oh, did we embarrass you?" Amy giggled.

Kairi shook her head. "No! Not at all. I just – I guess I never thought about girls like that before."

Amy's expression turned sympathetic. The smile on her face turned small as she cradled a mug in her hands.

"I can relate. It took me a while to understand that I don't need a man. That's how it's supposed to be, right? I'm a girl, I'll find the boy of my dreams, and then we'll get married and have three kids before our happily ever after."

Kairi nodded along, because that's how she grew up, too.

"So I took the best boy I could find, my own _hero_ , the knight in shining armor who saved my life, and I decided to follow him to the ends of the earth until he realizes that I'm his true love." She laughed to herself. "But he didn't want me, no matter how hard I tried. It only pushed him away. We could have had a really beautiful friendship..." With a sigh, she then sipped her tea.

"I'm sorry," Kairi said quietly, her fingers clutching her shorts.

"Aww, thank you. That part sucked, but you know what? I discovered that love – _true_ love – is something beautiful." Amy was looking over to Blaze as she said it, and things truly fell into place for Kairi then. She suddenly felt like she was intruding on something intimate.

She averted her eyes to the table and smiled to herself, a small but nonetheless sincere smile. Had love been this beautiful for her? _To_ her? She had loved Sora for so long, ever since the concept truly took form in her mind, but she couldn't remember having ever looked at him like that – or that he had looked at her this way. No, the only one he reserved such looks for was...

"I'm happy for you," Kairi said.

"Do you have a sweetheart of your own?" Blaze asked.

"Oh, uh, it's not like that..." Kairi started playing with her hair. It was getting long again, wasn't it? "I used to feel that way, but..."

"You fell out of love?" Blaze concluded.

Amy chided her for being so blunt, but Kairi sighed and knew she was right.

"I don't know if it was ever more than a childish crush."

"Don't say that," Amy turned her reprimand to her. "It's what you sincerely felt. Affection comes in many forms. So if it changes? That just means you're growing."

Kairi bit her lip. She didn't know how to reply. So she was growing? But it scared her. This change scared her, and it had been scaring her ever since she had to admit to herself that Sora would never reciprocate her affection like she wanted. Loving Sora was easy, she didn't want to lose that. He was kind and loud, and Kairi liked that. Sometimes he was brash and rude, but that was how boys were – Riku was the same way. "This is how it is, how it's supposed to be." How many times had she heard that?

So why couldn't she be the fairytale princess that got her one true love?

If she let go of her old feelings instead of holding onto the withering bouquet of something beautiful... would she be happier?

"So... how do you feel about that boy now?" She asked. "You said you _could_ have had a nice friendship."

Was her friendship with Sora destined to fall apart?

Amy hummed. "I still love him, but not like that. I truly believe that he doesn't hate me either. We've been through some tough times together, you know? It wasn't all bad – sometimes I even caught up to him."

"But you're not friends anymore?"

"You'll have to ask Sonic that."

Only barely did Kairi avoid choking. _That_ 's the friend? That hedgehog?

"He can't hate you. He keeps hanging around your neighbourhood."

Amy looked at her in surprise for a moment before she burst into laughter. She fell back in her chair, laughing loudly and openly.

"I saw him just this morning!" Kairi continued, a bit bewildered. "He challenged me to a race!"

Amy wiped a stray tear from her eyes and eagerly gulped down the drink Blaze handed her.

"That sounds like him," she coughed out, still not recovered. "The race part, I mean."

"Sonic can be stubborn," Blaze added. "I've encouraged him to talk to Amy since he so obviously wants to, but he has not followed my advice yet."

Kairi crossed her arms and smiled. "I know a thing or two about horribly stubborn friends."

If stubbornness was something you could hold a record in, Riku would be the reigning champion – a title hotly contested by several other people in their friend group. Mostly Roxas, who loved to show Riku up if the occasion allowed; nobody had really anticipated the blooming rivalry between them.

"I'm just waiting for the day he knocks on my door and goes 'Hey Ames, I have a boyfriend now,' and then hightails it out of here."

All three of them laughed heartily,

"Honestly, the sooner my best friends get off their butts and confess, the better. It's getting painful to watch," Kairi said.

"We terribly pained our friends as well before Amy confessed," Blaze said. "We received a bouquet from our friends as congratulations."

"A _bouquet_?"

Blaze nodded quite seriously. "They were extremely embarrassing in their gratitude for us no longer subjecting them to our dance around each other. We must have performed terribly."

Kairi laughed again, indulging in those giggles that so easily spilled from her lips now. For a moment, it didn't hurt that she could lose her best friends to each other. What could she even lose anymore?

It would be alright. It had to be.

"I have to write that down," she said. "I have to rope my friends into doing something like that when Sora and Riku get together."

_When_ , not  _if_ .

Eventually, Kairi's stomach hurt pleasantly from how much she had laughed. A new note on her phone reminded her to be extra embarrassing to her friends the next time she saw them. Right underneath that was the note with Sonic's friend's address.

"Hey Amy, do you know how to get here?" she asked, holding out her phone so Amy could see it

"That's Tails's place! Of course I know where it is, but how did you get that?"

"Remember how I said that Sonic challenged me to a race?" Kairi twirled her hair around a finger. "We agreed that I'd visit his buddy to show him my hoverboard if he wins."

With sparkling eyes, Amy asked, "You have a hoverboard? Where is it, can I see? It's been so long since I raced!"

Oh no. Keeping her keyblade a secret was harder than she had anticipated. Why did she keep running into situations like this? If only she hadn't dismissed her glider before she met Blaze. There was no way that they would believe her if she said that she left it where she had raced Sonic... She would have to show it to them and hope that they reacted well.

"I can show you outside?" she said.

Amy clapped her hands. "Will you? Thanks!"

"Why don't you take Kairi to Tails on your hoverboard, Amy?" Blaze suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea, love! Wait just a moment, I think I remember where it is."

A while later, they stood in front of the small garage that was tucked away next to Amy's house. It contained all sorts of knick-knacks, from old furniture, childhood toys, and gardening equipment to one fancy motorbike.

"A gift from a friend," Amy said when Kairi asked about it. "Shadow helped me pick it out and then the bastard paid for it behind my back."

Hidden behind said bike was Amy's hoverboard. It was pink with red accents, which made Kairi wonder if fur colour was an important thing in this world, since both Amy's and Sonic's board matched their fur. Deeming it rude to ask, she instead complimented it – it was a pretty board, after all.

"Now, where's your gear?" Amy asked excitedly, scanning their surroundings like she may find it.

Though her friends had been nothing but nice to her so far, Kairi began to fidget. Sora always acted so naturally around his keyblade, and Riku didn't give her any advice on this either, even though they've been travelling for years to dozens of worlds by now.

"It's a bit weird," she began. "I can't quite explain it either, so I'm sorry if it looks strange but -"

"Why don't you just show us?" Blaze cut in, her voice softer than usual.

After a moment, where Kairi's mouth hung open to continue defending herself, she gathered herself and took a deep breath. Then she held out her hand and willed her keyblade to her hand. It appeared in a warm flash of light, a comfortable weight in her grasp. Destiny's Embrace hummed a quiet song to calm its wielder, and Kairi couldn't help but smile at the reassurance.

"This is amazing!!" Amy exclaimed.

Kairi startled, looking at her with wide eyes. What she found on Amy's face was pure, genuine excitement, something clearly mirrored in Blaze's astonished expression.

"Is this your gear? It's so pretty!"

"You don't think it's weird?" Kairi couldn't help but ask.

In response, Blaze snapped her fingers – and flames appeared on her hand. Okay, point made.

"You can do magic?" Kairi asked.

"Pyrokinesis. These flames live in my soul," Blaze explained. She flicked the flames away and just like that, Kairi's worry was mostly snuffed out. "Don't doubt yourself, Kairi."

Kairi promised she would try, and to prove it she transformed her keyblade into her glider without much preamble. Her friends' amazement only grew as they inspected it. All the while, Kairi was careful not to let them touch it. The bequeathal of Destiny's Embrace had been accidental, and Kairi was robbed of the small ceremony that was supposed to accompany it. She didn't want to repeat her mentor's mistake.

After Amy started up her hoverboard, pleased to find it still functional, they said goodbye to Blaze and took off.

They flew through rows of houses until they reached the outskirts, where buildings became sparse and fields plentiful. The air turned sweeter here, and the breeze picked up. Well-trodden dirt paths spread out from the main road every once in a while. Eventually, as a barn came into view, they took the one that led to it.

As they got closer, it became clear that the barn no longer functioned as one. Scraps were strewn about in haphazard organisation, the smell of metal hung in the air, and if that weren't enough to clue her in, the plane parked by it would have done the trick. Apparently, it had been repurposed as a workshop.

A generous distance away from the entrance, Amy stopped. She and Kairi hopped off of their boards.

"This is as far as I go," Amy said with a smile. "If Sonic's there, tell him he can meet me out here if he wants."

"Will do," Kairi answered.

A small cleared path wormed its way through all the junk lying around, which she followed as best as she could. Most of this stuff seemed like failed projects or ones that were destined to become such, if the skid marks or dents were anything to go by. Not that she could tell what these things were even supposed to be, though they looked interesting enough.

The wide entrance doors were open when Kairi finally reached them. Inside were ever more mechanical wonders and tools, but these ones were more organized. A workbench stood on the left side, where a small yellow fox was tinkering with something. This had to be Tails. He had two tails instead of one like one would expect. A big roof window allowed plenty of daylight to filter in. A hammock hung under the ceiling, right in the sunlights path. Lying in that hammock, swinging with his legs, was Sonic. It seemed like he hadn't noticed her yet, which left her with the question of how to make them notice that they had a guest. She scanned the walls immediately by her sides for something like a doorbell but there was nothing there. She looked back at Amy, who simply gave her a thumbs up.

"Excuse me?"

No reaction. So she tried it again, cupping a hand around her mouth. From up by the hammock, Sonic gave a startled shout and fell out of it. With undue grace he landed on his two feet, unharmed. Tails sprang up from his workbench at the sound of the commotion, scattering some pencils as he did so. When he saw that there wasn't an immediate attack, he went and gathered those pencils.

"Hello?" Kairi said and gave a small wave.

Sonic's face lit up as recognition gleamed in his eyes and he grinned.

"Hey there, Kairi! Glad you made it. Look Tails, this is who I mentioned earlier."

He pulled Tails by the shoulders to his side and marched up to Kairi. With an armful of pencils, Tails studied her curiously.

"Kairi, this is Tails!" Sonic's grin turned into the definition of proud and he rubbed his knuckles on his friend's head. "This guy is a little genius."

A pleased, if embarrassed, smile appeared on Tails's face, though he playfully jostled Sonic away. "Hi there!"

Kairi's face almost fell when she heard his squeaky voice. He was a _kid_ – he couldn't be much older than 12 years. She had expected him to be a teenager at least, close to Sonic's age, perhaps a bit older.

"Thank you for coming," Tails continued, very politely. "And thank you for letting me look at your board! Is it okay if I finish up what I was working on real quick?"

"Of course, don't let me keep you from it," Kairi answered. Her voice had turned an edge softer, a touch kinder than it usually was.

As Tails scurried back to his workbench, Sonic wanted to follow him, but Kairi kept him back.

"Amy should still be outside if you want to talk to her."

Sonic's ears twitched. His eyes flicked to the door for just a moment as guilt mixed with apprehension on his open face. Kairi was determined to nip any excuse he came up with in the bud and put on a brave face.

"I don't know everything that's happened between you; Amy told me just a bit. But you can't deal with hurt if you ignore it. You can't keep running forever. She really wants to see you again. Please give her a chance."

Sonic bounced on his feet and his ears drooped. "Well... your racing wasn't half bad. I owe you that much, yeah?"

If that was the deflection he needed, Kairi wouldn't say no. Sonic waved goodbye and walked away with iron steps and a steeled spine. Looking after him, Kairi thought that he reminded her again of somebody that she knew. Then she joined Tails at his workbench.

[Whatever he was working on, it seemed to be giving him some trouble. He was mumbling to himself while rapidly tapping his pencil against the table. The handwriting on the sketch he had was barely legible. What little Kairi could decipher dealt with a method of energy conduction. Probably. Her eyes glazed over as they roamed over the paper and she shook her head.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

To Tails's credit, the explanation he gave her was obviously constructed for a layperson to understand. Kairi, who was entirely unfamiliar with the tech here, had to swim against the current of terminology she couldn't understand. She had no idea what a Chaos Emerald was, except that it had to be some sort of mineral, and that it was apparently capable of storing vast amounts of energy. Compared to the stuff Tails told her, Gummi-engineering almost made sense. She'd love to see how he would manage with it if he got to try his hand at it.

"I'm sorry, I don't get this stuff," she told him honestly.

"No, no, it's fine! Actually, I think laying it out like that helped me figure something out."

A couple pencil scratches later, Tails had added some corrections and rolled up the sketch. But he was too small to reach any of the higher shelves, which had other papers and blue prints peeking out of them. It didn't stop him, however: Tails flew up to the shelf with such casualness that Kairi almost forgot to be surprised. Only almost, though. Somehow, Tails was able to fly by spinning his two tails like a ceiling fan. A very fast ceiling fan.

When he came down, she quickly tried to compose herself, not wanting to be caught staring. This was all very normal in this world, she told herself. If a hedgehog could run like the wind, why shouldn't a twin-tailed fox be able to fly. There was a flaw in her composure, however, because when Tails asked to see her glider, she handed it to him without so much as a thought.

Clarity set in like the rising tide a moment later.

And then Kairi went under like she was buried in the sand by her idiot friend, who was also her in this case.

Did this count as her bequeathing her keyblade to this child? She couldn't handle that responsibility. As an _aspiring_ Bondmaker, she didn't have the right to do it, either. Was she now responsible for him? She wasn't ready for an apprentice! Nor was he ready to be a keyblade wielder! There was so much life left for him to experience!

As subtly as she could, she took her phone out of her pocket and opened the messaging app, where she frantically typed out a message to her mentor Aqua, asking if keyblade gliders could be used in bequeathals. The answer came promptly; No, there were no recorded events of gliders being used in bequeathals, because they lacked the ceremonious quality inherent to these events, and because this form meant a layer was present between the keyblade and the future wielder that would impede their connection. "Why do you ask?" was tacked on at the end of Aqua's message.

**Kairi** : Just curious :)

**Aqua:** Alright. If you require a Master's direct assistance, Riku is available. Take care.

In her heart, Kairi knew Aqua wasn't mad at her. And the thought of calling Riku here was a small comfort – not only would he be able to tell if she had passed on the power to Tails, but she could easily make him answer any of the kid's inevitable questions about her glider. It would serve that know-it-all right to be put in such a situation for once. But somebody of her position should not depend on such a rescue. Besides, Riku believed in her. She could not let him down.

So she pocketed her phone and took a deep breath to allow herself to focus. If Tails had the makings, she should be able to feel it like the hum of a passed-on melody. So she closed her eyes and listened. The beat of her own heart turned faint to her ears, yet no other sound joined it. There was only an almost unsettling quiet wherein her own heart beat alone. She could not sense any power coming from Tails, which calmed her mind a little.

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by an awkward silence telltale of an unanswered question. Tails had finished his inspection of her glider, it seemed, and he was looking at her expectantly

"I'm so sorry, my mind was someplace else!" she said. "What were you saying?"

Tails chuckled and readily accepted her apology. "I was just asking if you made this yourself?"

"Not all of it," Kairi said, playing with her hair. "I designed its appearance, mostly."

Well, her  _ heart _ designed it, technically, but that distinction mattered little here.

"These wings, for example. They may appear fragile thanks to the metal's filigree nature, but they are strong enough to support my full weight. At the same time, they can bend like this." Under her touch, the wing easily gave way as though it was a bird's. Fondness bloomed in her heart. "Wings represent freedom, but these ones also represent the heart: the will to bend but not to break even under pressure."

She looked up at Tails and met his wide, shining eyes. Pink dusted her cheeks.

"Sorry, seems my friend rubbed off on me," she said.

"I think it's cool," Tails said quietly, awed. "What about the colours? What do they mean?"

Kairi humoured a few more of his questions before she ran out of things to say. Though her keyblade and her glider were dear to her, she hadn't put her thoughts on them into words before. Waxing poetic wasn't really her style, normally, but it came to her easily now. As easily as speaking candidly from the heart could be, in any case. Tails only looked more impressed as she carried on, to the point that she had to bite back a proud grin, settling instead on a pleased smile. Then she offered to give him a demonstration of how her glider flies, which he couldn't turn down.

She stepped on her glider and held out her hand to help Tails on it as well. It easily supported both of them, although it got a bit crowded. For this little showcase it worked well enough.

As they left the barn, Kairi spotted Sonic and Amy from the corner of her eyes. They were sitting together on a small wall that separated the barn from a surrounding field. That was all she saw before they lifted off and her concentration returned to the task at hand. Holding onto Tails's shoulders to stabilize him, they soared through the air together. Higher and higher up, until it was just them and the sky together.

There, she flew in circles and slow loops, their feet firmly planted on the board even when they were upside down. At Tails's behest, she sped up and performed a couple sharp turns and more daring tricks. His cheers and laughter settled in her heart, and she let out her own whoop of joy.

After a couple of minutes, Tails jumped off the board and flew next to her for a couple rounds. His gaze turned analytical as he mumbled things to himself she couldn't quite catch. When she began to fret that he may ask her questions about functionality, which she definitely couldn't answer, she plopped down and asked him to join her. Thankfully, he sat down next to her and together they swung their legs.

Down below, Sonic and Amy were but little specks of colour dotting the yellows and greens of the land.

"Hey Tails, what do you think about Sonic?" she asked.

Tails followed her gaze, his smile turning fond. "I think he's amazing. He has a bigger heart than anyone I know! He's nice, and helpful, and super cool. Whatever happens, everyone can depend on him if things get tough."

"Sounds like you really care about him."

"He's like a big brother to me," Tails said.

Kairi thought of Sora.

"Yeah... I know someone like that, too."

While they slowly touched down, Kairi shook herself out of her sudden melancholic mood. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, so she told Tails to go on ahead, It was a message from Riku, asking if everything was okay, which she quickly affirmed. Afterwards, she scrolled through her other contacts out of habit. She stopped on the groupchat she had with some of her girl friends. Friends who were girls. The space was important. Kairi did not have a girlfriend, let alone multiples of them.

She pinched her arm to stop her thoughts from spiraling further in this weird direction. The last message in that chat was a selfie Xion took, showing off a new piercing she got. She was grinning from ear to ear, pointing at the ring now adorning her nose. The happiness was so plain on her face that Kairi giggled and smiled at her phone. Kairi was a tad jealous of how cute she looked here, but not enough that it stopped her from letting Xion know that the piercing suited her and that she looked very pretty. A second later, Xion sent back that Kairi should come with her next time.

**Xion** : I bet you'd look adorable with something like a conch piercing? We could match!

Something in Kairi's chest fluttered, and she sent back a blushing emoji. Then she quickly put her phone away to join her friends.

Only to realize how much of an outsider she was. Tails had wandered over to Sonic and Amy. Sonic was rubbing his nose, and his cheeks were a bit pink right under his eyes, like he had been rubbing them. Next to him, Amy was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, but all three of them were smiling and talking together. Kairi decidedly did not belong to this friend group.

However, when Amy spotted her, she grabbed her two friends and hauled them over to Kairi.

"Do you, like, do hugs?" Soni asked when they got closer. "I'd take a kick in the butt, too, but I feel like a hug's more appropriate."

" _ Thank you, _ is what he means," Amy said. "I'd also give you a hug, by the way."

Perplexed, Kairi held up her hands, looking from one to the other. "Oh, uh, why? I didn't do anything?"

They both stared at her with such pungent disbelief that she immediately felt silly for saying htat.

"You brought us back together," Amy said.

"Not like that, though," Sonic added.

"Yeah, not like that. I have a loving girlfriend, thank you."

Kairi laughed quietly and twiled a strand of her hair around her finger. "It was nothing... It just made me sad to see you separated."

"If it weren't for you, though, things wouldn't have changed now."

"Just accept our thanks, Kairi," Sonic said.

"Alright, alright!" she said, and her friends laughed.

There was a lot the two of them still had to figure out, she was sure. But her heart glowed with happiness at seeing them talking again. It was a start. 

Friendship always found a way in the end, right? She was sure of it.


End file.
